Introduction

The Tom Thomson Art Gallery has  a collection of over 2000 works of art, including painting, drawings, prints, photographs, sculptures and craft. In addition to a rich base of works by Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven, the collection offers significant contemporary art by regional and Canadian artists.

The Gallery promotes the enrichment and intrepretation of its permanent collection through an active acquisitions program, animated exhibitions, our Resource Room and loans to other cultural institutions.

The Gallery holds an important collection of Tom Thomson’s work and of those he inspired, namely the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. Thomson was a maverick who fused a passion for Canada's wilderness with experimentation and skill developed in his medium of painting. He also worked in the design field and was an avid photographer. His interest in the spiritual power of the landscape was coupled with an element of protest against the time-oriented progress of industrialization that threatened encroachment on untouched nature.

In the spirit of Thomson, the Gallery collects works relating to the landscape, and the many contemporary interpretations of that tradition. Often, the Gallery has acquired works by artists that make connections between historical and contemporary expression.

This web site introduces you to the Gallery's unique collection of Tom Thomson and Group of Seven works and provides valuable research aids, such as biographies, chronologies, and commentaries on specific paintings.

The Tom Thomson Art Gallery is the region's main disseminator of contemporary art. Its aim, therefore, is to provide a diverse documentation of the best work from Owen Sound, Ontario and Canada, and, on occasion, from around the world. The Gallery's exhibition program enhances understanding around issues in contemporary art, issues that prompt further understanding of works held in our care.

We hope that the "From the Vault" texts, prepared by our Gallery Guides will focus on and give new insight into some of the treasures from the Collection.